All-Star Baseball 2002

Review

by Scott Alan Marriott

Acclaim's All-Star Baseball series, which reinvented itself on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, returns to a Nintendo system with the release of All-Star Baseball 2002. Unfortunately for GameCube owners, this title is a port of the existing PlayStation 2 game rather than a title specifically designed to take advantage of the system. While there are some positive changes, the game takes a few steps backward in terms of control and visual presentation, pointing to a title that was likely rushed onto shelves.

Those who have played previous versions of the game will recognize the batting interface, which uses an oblong shaped cursor to hit the ball. The interface has always been a strong point of the series, making the duel between batter and pitcher an entertaining one relying on the actual strengths of the person on the mound or in the batter's box. Batters who struggle to make contact during the season will be handicapped with a smaller cursor than those who hit .300, and pitchers who can't last longer than five innings in a real game will quickly tire out in this one.

If the batter-pitcher interface is the first notable feature, the graphics are a close second. It is in this area where the GameCube falters a bit in direct comparison to the PlayStation 2 version. For some reason the graphics are fuzzier than on Sony's machine, which is most noticeable while fielding. The motion-captured animation is still very smooth, but the hit detection is spotty at best. It is not unusual to see fielders catch balls that look to be a few feet farther than their gloves, and pitches well out of the strike zone are sometimes connected for base hits even though you can't see the bat touch the ball.

These visual deficiencies appear more prevalent on GameCube than on PlayStation 2, which may be a fluke or a problem associated with the port. Of course, glitches are nothing new to the franchise, and the GameCube has more than its fair share of minor and sometimes major oddities that can ruin a game. It is possible, for example, to hit a ball down the third base line and watch it sit there as you round the bases for an inside the park home run. Outfielders sometimes don't "see" balls correctly on occasion, and they do a number of other peculiar things as well.

Another problem with the GameCube version is more a fault of Nintendo's controller, which may be a well-designed input device for action games, but it's not very flexible for sports games. A simple matter of throwing to specific bases is made more challenging by the simple fact the buttons aren't laid out in a diamond shape as in the PlayStation 2 controller. The larger than normal A button is especially awkward, since your right thumb has a harder time reaching the side buttons for quick throws to first, second, or third. It would have been nice if the game allowed players to customize this, possibly reassigning the A button to first base since it is typically where the majority of throws are going.

Other than these issues, which are likely associated with a quick conversion of a PlayStation 2 game, All-Star Baseball 2002 still offers some fun for baseball fans. A fielding assist option has been added to strike a balance between manual and computer-controlled defenses, so fielding is easier in this game than in the PS2 version. The balance of hits, including grounders, pop flies, choppers, Texas leaguers, and so forth, is excellent, the pitching game is one of the best implemented in a baseball title, and the hitting offers some depth once you get used to the cursor system. If it weren't for the irritating glitches that creep into games, GameCube owners would have been strongly advised to get their mitts on this title. All things considered, however, most should hold out for All-Star Baseball 2003 and hope the problems are corrected.